1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of sailboats, particularly to sailboat craft having one or more hulls. More particularly, the invention relates to steering control through articulated hulls and positioning of sails in relation to the wind.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The most common apparatus used to control the movement of a sailboat comprises sails and a rudder. The rudder is usually attached to the stern of the sailboat. The angle that the rudder makes with the longitudinal axis of the sailboat is usually controlled directly by a tiller, indirectly by a wheel connected by cables, to a rudder or by other well known means. Sails must be constantly adjusted to present the proper sail angle in relation to the wind as it relates to the particular course to be steered. The adjustment of sails is largely a manual operation. Lines that are attached to the sails or to a boom to which the sail is attached, are tied to various points on the deck holding the sails against the force of the wind. The sails are adjusted to drive the sailboat as efficiently as possible in a particular direction. A sailboat will maintain its heading with its rudder amidships when the sails are in balance. A change in the wind direction will require a change to the sails to keep the sails in balance. To change the heading in which a sailboat is traveling, a change in the position of the rudder is made and the new course is maintained by the rudder until the sails are brought back into balance. Multiple sails are difficult for a lone sailor to efficiently manage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,910 issued to John G. Hoyt, discloses a triangular sail having its head attached to a mast and the two lower points attached to a boom that is pivotally mounted to the bow of a sailing vessel. By pivoting the boom the sail may be presented to the wind at a variety of angles. The boom is unwieldy and difficult for a single sailor to manage.
Multi-hulled craft, such as a trimaran, frequently use a single rudder attached to a central hull, or on the rear hull on a triple hulled vessel utilizing a tetrahedral frame. Some sailboats, such as that disclosed in the patent to McKenna, U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,897 have three separate hulls with a deck suspended therebetween. In this configuration, a single hull, defined as a bow hull, precedes a pair of port and starboard hulls that are spaced apart from one another. The bow hull, having a rudder attached thereto, pivots around a vertical support member to provide steering, but pivots only in the horizontal plane. When a multi-hulled sailboat is in operation, the wind forces on the sail frequently lift one of the rear hulls from the water. If the McKenna 897 sailboat were to ride on one rear hull and the forward steering hull, the hulls will remain fixed to the frame and will tilt as the boat frame tilts, exposing a large portion of the bottom surface of the hulls and wetting a side and even a portion of the top surface of the hulls. The bottom surface of the hulls is designed to efficiently cut through the water and plane on the water surface. When the bottom surface of the hulls lose contact with the water surface in favor of the side of the hulls, the effectiveness of the hulls is reduced. Rudders attached to the stern of multi-hulled vessels become inefficient and often ineffective when the hull to which it is attached rotates longitudinally in the water due to lifting of one of the rear hulls out of the water.
The U.S. Pat. No. 858,093 to Mitchell, discloses a forward hull that rotates about an axis that is horizontal and perpendicular to the longitudinal length of the hull, which allows the forward end of the steering hull of the sailboat to rise to meet oncoming waves. This particular vessel is not designed to ride on the forward steering hull and one of the pair of rear hulls.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,566,819 issued to James Keddie, when the mast of the vessel is tilted, levers cause the twin hulls to rotate about a longitudinal axis that is parallel to the longitudinal length of the hulls. There is no steering hull disclosed, as the sailboat is steered by a standard rudder mounted on each hull.
Therefore, notwithstanding the existence of such prior art there is a need, particularly on craft with multiple hulls, to provide greater flexibility in steering a sailboat by adjustment of sail and by adjustment of a bow hull with a rudder attached thereto.